O’Reilly, a mainstay of photography-related learning resources, has just announced the new book, The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers.  The book carries a retail price of $24.99 and is currently available for pre-order at OReilly.com.

Press Release:

The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers–New from O’Reilly
Compact, Portable Photoshop Advice You Can Take Anywhere

Sebastopol, CA—Many photographers, even the pros, feel overwhelmed by all the options Photoshop provides. Fortunately O’Reilly’s latest release, The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers ($24.99), spotlights only the critical tools you’ll need most often in one compact reference. In the new book, professional photographer and bestselling author Derrick Story teaches you how to quickly and efficiently organize and edit your photos without compromising the originals.

“CS4 is going to be a game-changer for many photographers using Photoshop. For the first time, Adobe has included all the tools necessary to build a non-destructive workflow from upload to output. The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers walks you through each step of this process showing you best practice techniques along the way. After reading this book, you might actually think that Photoshop is friendly, even easy. I know this sounds remarkable, but I firmly believe it,” notes Derrick, who is O’Reilly’s digital media evangelist.

Adds Derrick: “If you’re contemplating an upgrade to Photoshop CS4, but you’re not sure if the new features are worth the investment, then read this book. For just a few dollars, you’ll be introduced to the new photographer-friendly tools in Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, and Photoshop itself. I suspect you’ll be so excited that you’ll order your upgrade right away.”

The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers details how to:

• Make basic adjustments such as cropping, color balance, and tonal adjustments
• Use advanced tools for black & white conversion, spot removal, batch processing, and more
• Refine your images using adjustment layers, masking, and smart objects
• Learn specific recipes for retouching portraits, swapping colors, correcting lens distortion, and much more

Indeed, to use Photoshop effectively, digital photography enthusiasts, prosumers, and professionals must know which tools they need and which ones they don’t. The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers is the first resource to give you the knowledge to create your own efficient path to great-looking photos. As Derrick writes in the introduction, “think of it as your personal attendant,” a well-organized resource guiding you to your own secret version of Photoshop that’s just for photographers.

Advance Praise
“Derrick shows that Photoshop can be friendly as well as powerful. In part, he does that by focusing photographers on the essential steps of an efficient workflow. With this guide in hand, you’ll quickly learn how to leverage Photoshop CS4’s features to organize and improve your pictures.”
-John Nack, Principal Product Manager, Adobe Photoshop & Bridge